Concrete road and structure.



E. BECKER.

CONCRETE ROAD AND STRUCTURE.

ED FEB. 14

I 1913' Patented Apr. 17, 1917.

' r 2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

I nmwr on I I Mai? A d M d 8 comcam APPLICATI INVE N 70/? EDMUND BECKER, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

CONCRETE ROAD STRUCTURE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 1'7, 1917.

Application filed February 14, 1913 Serial No.'748,386.

To all whom it may concern.

.Be it known that I, EDMUND BECKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at 1315 Fairmont street, Washington, District of Columbia, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Concrete Roads and Structures.

My invention relates to Concrete work of such magnitude and extent that it can no longer be made monolithic without danger of cracking, but must be divided up and cast in sections or blocks with properly gaged spaces which must remain vacant to provide room for the subsequent expansion of the blocks. 1 7

These spaces, and, therefore, also the gages used for determining them, must, during the building operation, be of a size that. is variable wlth the variable circumstances of construction, such as the size of the blocks; the mean temperature at which they are being cast or laid; the difference in temperature between this mean and the highest temperature to be allowed for; the hydrometric conditions;'the nature of the mixture used, etc.

These spaces, moreover, though almost wholly closed at the highest temperature, will, as a consequence of the contraction of the blocks, open up to a considerable extent,

producing gaps solarge that the sharp and comparatively weak edges of the blocks, if left unprotected, would easilybe broken off so as to fall into and eventually fill up the spaces that should be reserved for expansion.

My invention, therefore, consists in providing one wall of the expansion space with a firmly anchored plate having an extension at the exposed edge to completely cover the expansion space as well as to cover and protect the corner of the opposite block; and that may be made to extend in the opposite direction also to cover and protect the corner of the block to which the plate is attached.

As this form of oint covers and closes the expansion space, it is impossible to remove the spacing gages that are used in the expansion space during the course of construc-v tion. My invention, therefore, furtherconsists in using spacing gages that are sulficiently strong to resist ordinary pressures met with in construction, but that are so weak and small in section as to be easily crushed by the powerful forces brought into play when the blocks expand.

My invention is evidently applicable to all classes of concrete work in which the blocks are sufliciently large to require the free expansion space just referred to; but in the accompanying drawings it is shown as applied to roads.

Figure 1 is a cross section of one form of the oint as it appears immediately after completion with the wooden separators in-- tact. V

Fig. 2 is a cross section, showing the joint of Fig. 1 as it appears with the separators crushed by the expansionof the blocks.

Fig. 3 shows how the left block of Fig. 1 appears after completion, this being the first step in the building of the joint.

Fig. 4 shows the final step or casting of the right hand block.

Fig. 5 is a perspective of the metallic drills used in the first step, Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a perspective of one of the wooden separators used in the final step, Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a cross section of a joint at the side of a road running parallel with the gutter.

Fig. 8 is a section of a subjected to heavy traffic.

Fig. 9 is a perspective of a form used in the first step, Fig. 3.

Fig.10 is a perspective of the first cast block after removal of the form, Fig. 9, and insertion of the wooden separators of'Fig. 6.

Fig. 11 is a modification of the expansion space cover where corners meet.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, which show the joint in its simplest form, as made for light joint for a road 'traflic,.the concrete block A is the first completed part of the joint and concrete block B is its last completed part. Block B carries an angle iron G which is firmly anchored chisel edged so as to scrape up and force out any dirt that may have collected in depression S.

The left end of depression S is similarly beveled to cooperate with the chisel edge of the cover plate in keeping the recess S cleared. In roads this leveling of sharp edges reduces the unevenness, at joints, to a minimum.

In this simplified form, Fig. 1, intended for light trafiic, the upper corner of block B is deemed to be sufficiently protected without providing the angle iron G with a protecting heel, such as seen in the heavy forni of Fig. 8; and as a further simplification in this form the lower corners 9 of the joint are left rectangular.

Wooden separators d of the special form shown most clearly in Fig. 6 serve to gage the width of space M during the casting of block B; and, in order to hold these separators firmly where desired, they are provided with a relatively long tapered tail piece 6 which fits in holes previously formed in blockA during the casting of A, as will presently appear. As the length N, Fig. 6, of these separators d should be variable, depending upon the special circumstances and also to a certain extent upon the preferences of the builder, these separators are made excessively long to be trimmed off to the desired length at the moment of use. They are made just sufliciently strong to serve through the casting process, so that when the blocks A and B subsequently expand to reduce space M, as in Fig. 2, all of the separators are crushed. The expansion space M always remains sufficiently large to accommodate the splintered remains of the separators, which, being of soft wood, cannot at any time be considered as constituting a serious obstacle'to the free expansion of the heavy concrete structure.

In casting block A, a removable form H (Figs. 3 and 9) is used. This form H has screwed into it any desirable number of metallic drills D of the shape seen in Fig. 5. Each of these drills comprises a squared head D, a threaded neck F and a tail piece E, the latter being of the same shape and size as the tail piece 6 of the separators, Fig. 6. Head D, which may be of any desired length, has a transverse hole 6 to admit a short crossbar or handle for turning the drills in mounting and in unmounting them. Fig. 9 shows the removable form H with its drills D all mounted ready to be used in completing the mold for block A. Sticks K, Fig. 3, are first driven into the ground to en port a plank L. Form H is then shored with heads D against L; and is bound with L by means of a pin 3 which passes through an angle 1 riveted to H and an angle 2 bolted to L. The form HL, which now constitutes a solid form, is carefully leveled so that the top edges 4 and 5, Fig. 3,

may serve as a guide for striking a true rabbeted seat S.

The concrete of block A having been cast and having set, sticks K are pulled out, plank L is removed and the drills D are unscrewed. Form H is then removed, leaving the side wall of block 'A exposed with at least two rows of conical holes molded by the tail piece E of drills D. The wooden separators cl, whose heads N (Fig. 6) have all previously been trimmed to the desired length, are now inserted and block A presents the appearance seen in Fig, 10.

We are now prepared to cast block B, by setting up angle plate U, as in Fig. 4, with its short leg resting directly on seat S of block A and its inner vertical face pressed against the separators (Z. The plate G is thus accurately set in its correct position and it is easily held in such correct position by small stakes 10 or any other suitable equivalent.

To insure a constantly good contact between S and its cover Gr, the joints M must be built normal, that is, perpendicular to the surface; because the angle irons used will generally be of the standard rolled right angle form. Thus, where the surface is inclined, as alongside of a gutter P, Fig. 7, the

joint is also inclined so that it shall remain perpendicular to the surface. In this instance the seat S of block A, which happens to be at the right of a joint in this case, is

made without a rabbet, as the latter would 3,

interfere with drainage into the gutter.

At crossings a small plate 7, Fig. 11, is I riveted under one of the covers G to secure the continuity of the covered joint, as it is important to prevent the dirt from entering the joint at any point.

For roads with heavy traflic the joint is preferably made as in Fig. 8, with a heel or rearward extension to cover and protect the corner of block B. Here surface S is also of metal and side of block A is also armored. The form H in this case is not used, but the plating of A, which is a substitute for H, must be perforated and threaded to admit and hold the drills D in the same manner as a such crown, so that removable form H,

plank L and covers G should be curved to correspond. Where relatively heavv metal shapes are used they should preferably be built up of smaller shapes, Fig. 8, that are easily bent before being assembled.

The right angle corners 9 at base of joint M of Figs. 1 and 2 are preferably cut away in the heavy forms, Fig. 8, as at 10, to allow the expansion to take place without gathering dirt into the joint. The invention, it is seen, consists not only in a'novel form of expansion joint, but also in the method of building the same, both form and process being devised to produce and insure the preservation of the indispensable free vacant expansion spaces.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The method of forming an expansion joint which consists: first, in casting a block with holes opening into the expansion space; secondly, in placing crushable spacers in such holes; thirdly, placing an angular plate to overlap the block that has been cast and bear against such crushable spacers, said plat being provided with anchors;

fourthly, and finally, in casting the second block about such anchors.

2. The method of forming an expansion joint which consists: first, in casting a block with a depression at the outer face and with holes opening into the expansion space; secondly, in placing crushable spacers into such holes; thirdly, in placing an angular plate to rest in the depression at the outer face of the block first cast and bear against such crushable spacers; said plate being provided with anchors; fourthly, and finally, in casting the second block about such anchors.

3. The method of forming an expansion joint which consists: first, in casting a block with a form provided with removable drills to form holes in the block, directed into the expansion space; secondly, in allowing such cast block to set and removing suchdrills;

thirdly, in placing crushable spacers In such holes; .fourthly, in placing an angular plate to overlap the block first cast and to bear against such crushable spacers; said plate being provided with anchors; fifthly, and finally, in casting the second block about such anchors.

4. In the production of a concrete structure composed of blocks separated by va cant spaces to provide free expansion room for said blocks, and having each pair of adjacent blocks provided with a metallic cover plate for such expansion space with a leg extending from such cover plate down into such expansion space and firmly anchored to and against one of the said adjacent blocks; the method of casting such adjacentblocks which consists: first, in casting the block to which the cover plate is not attached and forming such first cast block with holes to admit comparatively thin wooden separators trimmed to the length desired; secondly, in resting and holding the said cover plate and leg, provided with suitable anchors, against said first cast block and separators as a form for casting the second block; third-1y, and finally,.in casting the second block of which said cover plate and leg are to form a nomremovable constituent part. I

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDMUND BECKER. Witnesses:

M. E. CoWnnL, A. M. PARKINS. 

